Students can be suitable brides - at this women’s college

Ranchi, March 1 (IANS) Students in a college are expected to study and broaden their horizons. But the principal of one such women’s institution in Jharkhand thinks it can be a happy hunting ground for suitable brides. The Jamshedpur Women’s College, an autonomous college in Ranchi University, has launched a Swayamvar bureau on its campus. Girls interested in getting married can submit their biodata to it in the hope of finding a perfect match.

It’s the brainchild of Shukla Mohanty, the college principal. “We have started Swayamvar to get suitable matches for the girls of our college,” Mohanty told IANS.

“The interested girls can submit their biodata. The girls’ biodata will be kept secret.” She says she started it last month with the aim of helping girls from poverty- stricken backgrounds who want to marry without giving any dowry.

The college, where over 1,000 girls study, has Plus 2, bachelors and masters courses. So far over 20 girls have submitted their biodata to Swayamvar.

Mohanty doesn’t like to call it a marriage bureau though it serves as one for all practical purposes.

“We will verify the facts of both families. The idea is to make bonds between two families. Do not mistake it as a marriage bureau.

“Marriage bureaus and marriage websites are never bothered about family backgrounds. But here everything will be verified and we will ensure that no dowry transaction takes place.”

The biodata of girls is entered into a computer. Interested girls have to fill up a form and submit details of the family background and the kind of match they are looking for.

The college will also invite biodata from boys.

But women’s activists have not taken kindly to the idea.

“My first reaction is a college is a place for studying, not for marriages. We have to verify the rules of university acts. There are many kinds of social work, but we cannot introduce this in college,” said Laxmi Singh, chairperson of the Jharkhand Women Commission.

However, many parents and college girls are excited about the move.

“We appreciate the college principal’s efforts to find a suitable match for our daughters. My daughter has also submitted her biodata. We hope it will lesses the effort that parents have to put in to choose grooms,” said Sarita Sinha, the mother of a girl who is in her third year of graduation.